Façade
by macmoosie
Summary: Joanna is sent on a deep cover operation under the dataDyne corporation to uncover a conspiracy that may control the fate of the world as we know it.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Perfect Dark franchise, nor am I affiliated with Rare in any way. I do own the original characters featured in this story and they aren't to be mentioned or used elsewhere without my permission.

**Author's Note:** Rated T for violence and language. This story takes place in the Perfect Dark setting, year 2023, but the futuristic setting has been scrapped for this story - people drive on the streets in modern day vehicles and whatnot, but more luxurious cars such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc. are less rare in this time period. I prefer the modern day setting over the futuristic and it allows me an easier time writing. I hope you enjoy the story!

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_**1/ London Calling**_

My name is Joanna Dark, the year is 2023. Three years ago, I worked as a bounty hunter with my father Jack and our friend Chandra. My first mission was to rescue a man named Dr. Zeigler from a Triad crime lord in Hong Kong. When we got him to safety, we learned that he had information that his employer was after and we couldn't allow them to get their hands on it. Zeigler used a device to implant information in my father's head, confident it would be safe. Then my father was kidnapped by a weapons corporation known as dataDyne, where the founder Zhang Li tried to extract it from him. I broke into Zhang Li's palace and rescued him, but his daughter Mai-Hem stopped us and killed my father as we tried to escape.

At Chandra's suggestion, I infiltrated a dataDyne base in the Pacific Ocean trying to locate Dr. Eustace Caroll, Zeigler's partner. Before I could get answers, Chandra killed him and revealed herself as working for Zhang Li. She tried to kill me, but forces from Carrington Institute - the people who hired us to find Zeigler in the first place - came and rescued me. I learned that my goals coincided with that of Carrington Institute, so I used their resources to put an end to Zhang Li's plan.

I was sent to infiltrate a mining site in an ancient Peruvian temple where I discovered the conspiracy: Zhang Li and Mai-Hem were looking for an artifact known as The Graal, which gives it's possessor superhuman powers. Teaming up with Johnathan Steinburg, we followed them to Africa where I killed Mai-Hem and disabled dataDyne's air defenses, allowing Carrington Institute to launch a full scale attack on Zhang Li's forces. When I reached Zhang Li, he had already activated The Graal and gained the powers, but I killed him and put an end to his evil plan. I was congratulated by Daniel Carrington himself and when asking how I did, he told me my work was perfect.

Six months later, I found myself living in the Carrington Institute grounds. I was still dealing with the guilt of my father's death, and I was lost in thoughts and I was unsure of myself and what I was doing at the Institute - my father told me not to trust Daniel Carrington. After agreeing to go on a mission to save an Institute agent undercover as a pharmaDyne employee, I found myself drowning in more guilt as the man I was sent to rescue was killed. I fled to China and sought refuge there, but my defection was soon realized, and it didn't take dataDyne long to track me down. Before they could capture me, Jonathan came to my rescue.

I went back to the Institute, furious with Carrington, but he talked me out of my anger and told me I was not a killer - the thought that had been haunting me for God knows how long - but a soldier, fighting for a greater cause. I learned to trust him and finally found myself comfortable with my new place at the Institute.

By 2023, I became a full-fledged operative for the Institute. I was sent to Seattle to extract a dataDyne defector for my next mission. In the process, I uncovered a conspiracy between dataDyne and a group of extraterrestrials known as the Skedar. After centuries of war, the Maians - another alien race - and the Skedar have established a shaky ceasefire. However, Skedar fanatics persistently test the boundaries of this peace with terrorist activities. They planned to steal a Cetan mega-weapon from a crashed spacecraft on the Earth's ocean floor and use it to restart the Maian-Skedar war. Unbeknownst to dataDyne, they also intend to test fire the mega-weapon on Earth, destroying it in the process.

When the President of the United States refused to loan dataDyne the research vessel they need to retrieve the mega-weapon, the corporation conspired to kill him and replace him with a dataDyne-grown clone. However, I was able to sneak aboard Air Force One and prevent the assassination from happening. Then, with the help of other Carrington agents and a Maian bodyguard nicknamed Elvis, I traveled to the ocean floor and destroyed the Cetan mega-weapon. Afterward, I helped the Maians launch a counterattack against the Skedar homeworld, eliminating the fanatics' High Priest, thereby issuing a devastating blow to morale.

Currently, I'm residing at the Institute, awaiting my next assignment. I've spent my free time in target practice, working on my hand to hand combat, and reading up on the latest technology floating about. The technology of the world had nothing compared to what Carrington Institute provides me with on missions. It was an early Saturday morning when I was briefed on my next assignment. What I didn't know is that I was about to uncover some deadly information.

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"All right, Joanna!" Jonathan yelled over the succession of gunfire. I lowered my gun, a black P9P handgun and removed my safety goggles and earplugs.

"Did you say something?"

He rolled his eyes. "Do you really need to practice your marksmanship?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Practice makes perfect."

"You're already 'perfect', according to Carrington. Besides, you've been here for twenty minutes already."

I gazed over at the clock. He was right. Jonathan Steinburg - a good friend of mine. He saved my life a few times and was there to help me countless times. He had blonde hair, short and messy, and dark blue eyes. He had an athletic body and he was very fit and agile. I believe he's just under six feet tall and in his mid-twenties. I didn't realize until the last minute he had said something.

"What?"

"I said that Carrington wants to meet with you. He has a new assignment for you and thinks you'll enjoy it."

"I hope he doesn't think I'll enjoy it any more than our mission in Kazakhstan where I killed Mai-Hem the second time around."

He laughed. "I still don't understand how she survived in the first place."

"Neither do I," I replied, smiling.

I left Jonathan in the firing range to practice in peace while I met with Carrington. Knocking on the door to his office, I stepped inside and sat in the black leather chair in front of his desk. He was typing ferociously on the computer keyboard, no doubt sending an email. "Joanna, I'm glad to see you," he said, looking up from the computer. "Care for a drink?"

"I'd like that, Mr. Carrington."

He headed over to the bar and poured two drinks; an apple martini for me, and glass of bourbon for himself. Setting my drink before me, he took a seat and passed the dossier across the desk. I took a sip of the drink and noted it's excellent taste before reading over the documents.

"Your mission is in England this time. Just a simple recovery mission - get into the London dataDyne facility and steal the blueprints from their new weapon - the K1U. We're not entirely sure what it is. It could be anything from a high tech missile or a small handgun. We need you to find out what it is."

"Sounds simple, but remember Mr. Carrington, nothing is ever simple."

"Too true Joanna. You leave immediately, so gear up and head to the loading dock."

I left his office and ran into Jonathan at the armory. "What's the mission?" he asked.

"I'm to steal blueprints from a dataDyne facility in England."

"England, eh? Well, I'll be with you on communications, as ordered by Carrington, and I'll have a little surprise for you too."

I smiled and picked out my inventory - a P9P handgun, Locktopus, and a Datathief. Taking the gun and gadgets with me, I headed to my quarters to change out of my casual wear. Changing into black skinny jeans, I pulled on high top black and white Converses before grabbing a top from the closet. I got a black tank top with a big red star in the center and pulled a black G-Star jacket over it, leaving it unzipped.

Heading to the loading dock, I boarded the aircraft and awaited takeoff for my journey. Arriving in London, I was greeted by on-point Institute agents at the private airfield. Allowing me to sleep overnight at the Institute safe house, I proceeded with the mission first thing in the morning. I borrowed a car from the Institute safe house, a black Volkswagen Golf. "Nice one, Carrington", I muttered, getting into the vehicle. Pulling up across the street from the building, I eyed it before getting out of the car. Sneaking my way around to the back, I knocked out a guard before entering through the staff entrance.

The facility was guarded - not lightly nor heavily. Just as one would expect. It looked more like a building of offices, and one would assume t'was if it hadn't been for the armory on the third floor, the laboratory on the bottom, and the firing range on the second - offices in almost every door on every floor filled with security, dataDyne personnel, and civilian worker monkeys who have no idea who they're really working for. I doubt they'd even care, just as long as the check clears.

Pressing up against the nearest wall, I peered around the corner and noticed a security camera rotating counter clockwise in a semi-circle and back. Timing it, I ran diagonally, crossing into the next corridor. Finding the stairwell, I checked the map before proceeding to the laboratory. The laboratory was barely guarded - four guards total armed with submachine guns. Sneaking into the staff room, I stole a scientist outfit and headed to the K1U's holding facility. Entering, one of the scientists smiled at me before turning back to his clipboard. I waited for him to leave before contacting the Institute. "Carrington, Jonathan, I'm inside the laboratory. But, the K1U is neither a missile or handgun."

"Well, what is it?", Carrington asked.

"It's a virus."

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I hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I did writing it! Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Chapter Two is coming very soon.


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